British teen suicide puts spotlight on Latvia-based "ask.fm" website

The Latvia-based social networking website "ask.fm" is at the center of a storm in Britain following the suicide of a schoolgirl who was bullied online - with advertisers pulling out and the prime minister leading calls for a boycott, reported LETA/AFP.

Hannah Smith, 14, hanged herself last week. Friends said she had been taunted on
"ask.fm" about everything from her weight to the death of her uncle.
Bullies bombarded her with anonymous messages, telling her to "drink
bleach" and "go die".

Campaigners say she is not the first teenager to be "bullied to
death" on "ask.fm", which counts millions of adolescents around the
globe amongst its 60 million registered users.

The website - which has turned its founders, brothers Mark and Ilja Terebin,
into millionaires since it launched in 2010 - has been linked to at least four
other teen suicides in Britain, Ireland and the US this year.

Hannah's death has pushed criticism of the website to fever pitch, with
parents - including Prime Minister David
Cameron - asking why users are able to post such vicious remarks with
complete anonymity, often to youngsters in the same school class.

Wary of the negative publicity, advertisers including telecoms giant
"Vodafone" and designer Laura Ashley have scrambled to abandon the
site - and after Cameron called Thursday for users to boycott it,
"ask.fm's" founders were forced to issue a defense.

"We are committed to ensuring that our site is a safe
environment," the Terebin brothers insisted in a statement. "We do
not condone bullying of any kind."

The website had already described Hannah's suicide as a "true
tragedy" and said it is working with police investigating the death.

Her father has called for its operators to face murder or manslaughter
charges.

Circular economy for modern growth: EU and the Baltics EU’s circular economy plans are aimed at efficient use of natural resources and raw materials, waste disposal, while fostering energy savings and reducing CO2. Adequate actions in the Baltic States would contribute to “closing the loop” of product lifecycles through greater recycling and re-use, while bringing benefits to environment, business and economic growth.